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Top 6 reasons employees quit

An exit interview is a good first step to help you understand why employees leave. Of course, if the problem is you, they might lie. Employees that are smart don’t want to burn bridges.

My client’s question led me to do some research. Although the order might differ, these are among the top six reasons employees quit:

-The employee isn’t qualified or trained properly for the job.
-There’s a poor fit between the employee and the company culture.
-The supervisor is a poor manager.
-The employee doesn’t feel challenged or valued.
-The staff doesn’t understand company goals and how they contribute.
-They can make more money elsewhere.

Interestingly, the money issue is almost always last on the list. This is especially true in times of high unemployment where other opportunities are scarce, but it’s even true in today’s improving economy. Your employees are not likely to bolt if compensation is competitive and everything else is good.

You can identify lack of fit quickly or over time. Our company once lost a new employee during her first lunch break. We assume she survived because her four-hour paycheck was cashed. The good news is that her departure was fast and we hadn’t invested a lot of time in training and onboarding.